Incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome is rising rapidly, and optimal pharmacotherapy may meaningfully reduce length of treatment. OBJECTIVE To compare pharmacological therapies for neonatal abstinence syndrome.

The increase in the incidence of NAS is consistent with recent published reports. The increase in length of treatment and peak morphine dose in the morphine + clonidine group is in marked contrast to previous work on this treatment combination. Further study on the impact of clinical characteristics such as methadone and antidepressant exposure on the association is warranted.